Tuesday, November 8, 2011

I was sick last Tuesday, so felt a bit rusty today, but quickly fell back into the routine. All told, across three sessions, there were roughly 125 children in attendance, plus almost that many adults.

Book: Itsy Bitsy Babies by Margaret Wild, illustrated by Jan Ormerod (2010)
A diverse cast of babies perform various infant behaviors. This one's by Margaret Wild, but it would pair well with the similar Mem Fox, Karen Katz, and Helen Oxenbury titles.

Rhyme:Here is a Ball for Baby
This was a new one for us today. The most awkward part is the motion for umbrella, because there just isn't a clear, natural way to make a hand motion resembling an umbrella. Otherwise, though, it was a good choice.

Rhyme:Corn Grows Tall
I was looking for a fall rhyme that didn't involve Halloween, and hit on this one after searching for harvest rhymes. It's pretty simple, and I saw some of the twos and threes getting into it.

Book:The Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tafuri (2007)
One of the great things about performing the same story time three times is that you really get to know your books. There is so much going on in this one, but it's all in the illustrations, and I didn't pick up on half as much as my audience did. Nancy Tafuri's larger-sized books also work well for big groups like mine!

Flannel Board Song: Grandpa Wore His Blue Scarf
This is one of the many permutations of Mary Wore Her Red Dress I have sung in the past year. I think I have one for almost every occasion at this point, but today's was about four family members - Grandpa, Grandma, Daddy, and a little girl - who are "starting to feel a little bit chilly in this Fall weather" and decided to put on their scarves. Grandpa's is blue, Grandma's is green, Dad's is red, and the little girl's is a rainbow made up of the other three colors. The final verse of the song, which is about the little girl's scarf, went through a couple of revisions as the morning progressed.

Session one got this rendition: "The little girl wore her striped scarf..."
Session two heard, "The little girl wore her rainbow scarf..."
And session three got the best option. I named the little girl: "Mary wore her rainbow scarf..."

The third option was by far the least tricky, and the entire flannel board went over pretty well with everyone.

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It (a cappella)
In my effort to decrease the amount of recorded music I use in story time, I decided to include an old favorite that almost everybody knows. It was a success. When I sing this a cappella, I always include clapping hands, stomping feet, beeping your nose, and shouting hooray.